A pair of vintage March-DFVs jockey for position at the Infineon Raceway during a 2011 Historic Grand Prix event. Photos courtesy of Historic Grand Prix.

If you think that top-level modern auto racing is a bit watered down (count me as one who holds that opinion), but still enjoy watching the competition, then you might be in for a treat if you head to Texas in November.

Historic Grand Prix recently announced that they will run in conjunction with the U.S. Grand Prix Formula 1 race at the new, purpose-built Circuit of the Americas Austin this November.

Williams FW07 at Lime Rock Park.

HGP is different from some other, more inclusive vintage racing organizations in that they focus solely on historic Formula 1 cars, specifically those that were run during the series 3.0-liter formula that ran from 1966 through 1983. The majority of cars in the series are powered by the Cosworth Ford DFV V-8 engine that dominated the series from 1967 through 1983, powering its way to 155 wins in 262 races it was entered in. But there are also a handful of Ferraris and Alfa Romeos known to frequent the events.

A Lotus 79, the car that Mario Andretti drove to the 1978 Formula 1 championship, shown at speed at Road America.

The level of driving talent varies as these cars are largely driven by their owners and not professional racers. Some people will run hard to get on the podium while others will still run at speed, but perhaps not as close to the limit. And there is a big difference between the full aero cars of the early 1980s and the wingless machines from the late 1960s.

Vintage Shadow Formula 1 car in action at Mont-Tremblant in 2011.

Since these cars are all long out of production – if you can call the manufacture of a Formula 1 car production – there are some restrictions in place designed to keep them together instead of being run at the ragged edge. DFV engines are restricted to the earlier, long-stroke design to keep the revs and the power down, in addition to keeping expensive rebuilds to a minimum. Ground effects cars, like the groundbreaking Lotus 79, are allowed to run, but not with the ground effects skirts lowered and active.

DFV-powered F1 cars were practically a cottage industry in the U.K. from the late 1960s through the early 1970s. Tyrrell, Lotus, March, Williams, McLaren, Wolf, Penske, Shadow and so many others ran with the Cosworth engines, and many of those names today can be found on the HGP grid.

The Ferrari 312T once driven by world champion Nicki Lauda speeds around Road America during a Historic Grand Prix.

While the revs may not be as high as modern F1 engines with their sky-high limits allowed by the use of pneumatic valves and space-age engine materials and hyperspeed electronics, there is nothing quite like seeing – or hearing – a classic F1 car in action. If you are headed to Austin for the F1 race, scheduled for November 16-18, seek out the Historic Grand Prix.

Schedules have not yet been announced, as there will likely be other support series run during the weekend. Visit CircuitoftheAmericas.com for more information.

6 Responses to “Historic Grand Prix added to the schedule for U.S. Grand Prix in November”

Its great to see historic grand prix with U.S. Grand Prix in November. This is one of the my favorite sport and now I think fans of the Grand Prix will get the dose of double fun. I simply liked it…!!!